1. Molecular characterization of desmosomes in meningiomas and arachnoidal tissue
- Author
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P. Kremer, H.D. Mennel, Christopher K. E. Bleck, Kemal Akat, Nikolaus Gassler, and Jürgen Kartenbeck
- Subjects
Male ,Pathology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Swine ,Immunoblotting ,Desmoglein-2 ,Fluorescent Antibody Technique ,Biology ,Desmoglein ,Pathology and Forensic Medicine ,Meningioma ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,Mice ,Desmosome ,Cell Line, Tumor ,otorhinolaryngologic diseases ,medicine ,Meningeal Neoplasms ,Animals ,Humans ,RNA, Messenger ,neoplasms ,Desmocollins ,DSC3 ,DSC2 ,Desmoglein 2 ,Membrane Glycoproteins ,Desmoplakin ,Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ,Proteins ,Desmosomes ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,nervous system diseases ,Cytoskeletal Proteins ,Microscopy, Electron ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Desmoplakins ,biology.protein ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Desmocollin ,Arachnoid ,Desmogleins ,Plakophilins - Abstract
Intercellular junctions morphologically identical to epithelial desmosomes are known structures in meningiomas and arachnoidal tissue. Desmoplakin as one of the desmosomal plaque components has proven to be a reliable marker for diagnosis of meningeal tumors. Here we demonstrate by immunofluorescence microscopy, immunoblot and reverse transcription-PCR reactions that cells of arachnoidal tissue, of diverse meningioma subtypes and of a meningioma-derived cell line contain the full complement of the typical desmosomal proteins desmoplakin (DP), plakophilin 2 (PP2), desmocollin 2 (Dsc2) and desmoglein 2 (Dsg2). Consequently, all these molecules are suitable for diagnostic applications of meningioma tumors. In addition to these constitutive desmosomal components, representative for single-layered (simple) epithelia, the dural border cells of the arachnoid and about 60% of the meningiomas tested were positive for desmocollin 3 (Dsc3), a protein in epithelia taken as an indicator for differentiation.
- Published
- 2003